As a young journalist in the early 1950s, Ted Polumbaum defied congressional inquisitors and suffered the usual consequences—he was fired, blacklisted, shunned, and trailed by the FBI. But he emerged from the Red Scare with his integrity intact to build a new career as an intrepid photojournalist, covering some of the most critical struggles of the latter half of the twentieth century.
In this biography, inflected with memoir, Ted's daughter acquaints us with a quirky, accomplished, politically engaged family man who belonged to that hallowed "Greatest Generation" and was both of and ahead of his times. It's a narrative of fortitude, humor and optimism, animated by the power of conscience and commitment, peopled with flawed human beings facing major challenges, yet not governed by tropes of trauma or dysfunction. It's an account of dissidence and social activism that helped set the stage for the upheavals of today.
Two decades since Ted's death, his life looms large as reminder, revelation and inspiration. His courage in the face of mass hysteria, his lifelong commitment to social justice, and his unpretentious portrayals of the famous, the infamous, and unsung heroes of humanity all over the world are more relevant than ever.